Employment Rights Act 2025: What you need to know about the April 2026 reforms and beyond

By Harriet Calver on 13 April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (the ‘Act’) represents one of the most significant overhauls of UK employment law in recent years. The Act introduces wide‑ranging reforms designed to expand worker protections, reshape trade union frameworks, and modernise key aspects of the employment landscape. Although many provisions remain subject to ongoing consultations, a substantial set of changes took effect in April, and further changes are staggered throughout the remainder of 2026 and beyond. This bulletin focuses on the key reforms that took effect in April 2026 and the practical steps employers should be taking now.

On 6 April 2026 a number of key changes came into effect:

Statutory Sick Pay

Prior to 6 April, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) only became payable from the fourth day of sickness absence and workers had to be earning at least £125 per week to qualify. Now SSP is payable from the first day of illness and the earnings threshold has been removed altogether.

Employers’ sickness absence policies and any other policies or procedures that reference SSP (including template employment contracts) will now need to reflect these changes. It will also be important to update payroll and HR systems accordingly and ensure line managers are aware of the changes. 

Holiday records

All employers are now under a duty to keep records for a period of six years demonstrating compliance with holiday entitlement (including leave and pay) under the Working Time Regulations. Guidance as to what records will suffice has not yet been published and as such, for the time being, employers will have to make judgement calls about what information is kept and how it is stored.

Failure to keep adequate records dating back to 6 April 2026 is a criminal offence, punishable with potentially unlimited fines. In addition, where records show that holiday pay has not been paid correctly, the Fair Work Agency will be able to demand the underpayment and can impose a penalty on top of 200% of the underpayment (capped at £20,000 per unpaid individual), halved to 100% if rectified within 14 days.

Whilst many employers may already keep adequate records, it may be worth retaining other records, for example, emails to staff reminding them that taking leave is encouraged and considering whether additional processes are required to retain records for six years. Data protection policies should also be reviewed to ensure that the new six-year retention requirement is reflected.

Enhancements to family-related leave

April 2026 marks the first wave of enhanced family-related rights under the Act, with further measures due to come into force throughout 2026 and 2027. As of 6 April 2026, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are “day one” rights, removing the requirement for 26 weeks’ service (however 26 weeks’ continuous service will still be required to qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay). Employees are also no longer prevented from taking paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave.

In addition, bereaved fathers and partners are now entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ paternity leave if the child’s mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life, with the new entitlement applying to bereavements occurring on or after 6 April 2026. This is also a “day one” right for those who assume main responsibility for the child’s upbringing, although there is no right to statutory pay during this period.

With these changes now in place, employers should ensure they have taken steps to review and update their family-leave policies, internal procedures and manager training to ensure full compliance and the provision of consistent, appropriate support to parents under the new regime.

Whistleblowing protection for sexual harassment

As of 6 April, disclosures about sexual harassment qualify as protected disclosures under the UK whistleblowing framework, meaning that workers who “blow the whistle” on sexual harassment are be protected against detriment and dismissal. Workers will no longer need to present concerns as health and safety risks or legal breaches to obtain protection; a barrier that has historically made reporting more difficult. Employers should ensure that their whistleblowing policies are updated to reflect this change and that managers/HR teams are trained to identity and respond appropriately to such disclosures. Additionally, employers should review related policies and confidentiality wording in settlement agreements so that they are not inadvertently discouraging or restricting protected disclosures.

Collective redundancy protective award

Prior to 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award that an Employment Tribunal could make for a failure to comply with collective redundancy consultation obligations was capped at 90 days’ pay. For dismissals taking effect on or after 6 April 2026, this cap has doubled to 180 days’ pay. As the daily rate remains uncapped, the potential financial exposure for employers who fail to comply with the collective consultation requirements can now be substantial.

As a result, it is more important than ever for employers to identify at an early stage whether collective consultation obligations may be triggered and to ensure that those obligations are fully complied with.

For larger employers who may, at some point, need to make 20 or more redundancies within a 90‑day period, it will be particularly important to review and update redundancy policies and internal guidance. Employers should also factor the increased level of potential protective awards into their risk assessments when planning and implementing collective redundancies.

Updated government guidance on collective consultation is expected in due course, and employers should familiarise themselves with this once it is published.

Other changes that came into effect on 6 April 2026:

•         Voluntary action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through menopause.
•         Menopause guidance.
•         Simplification of the trade union recognition process.

Fair Work Agency

A new Fair Work Agency (“FWA”) was established on 7 April 2026 with the aim of creating a single consolidated enforcement body with wide-spanning powers. The FWA will have the power to bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of individuals and will cover National Minimum Wage, labour abuse and Employment Agency Standards.

Whilst the FWA is not yet operating at full capacity, its enforcement powers will step up throughout the remainder of 2026 and beyond. In due course, the FWA will have authority (which will be retrospective dating back to December 2025) to enforce the requirement to retain holiday entitlement records.

Looking ahead

Following April’s initial reforms, several more significant changes are expected in the second half of 2026. Much of this is still being shaped by active Government consultations, with further detail expected in the coming months. The most significant changes include:

·   Enhanced obligations in relation to sexual harassment – requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ (rather than merely ‘reasonable steps’) to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and introducing an obligation on employers not to permit harassment of their employees by third parties (October 2026).

·     Trade unions –  the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union, strengthening of trade unions’ right of access and new rights and protections for trade union representatives (October 2026).

·   Employment Tribunal time limits - increasing the time limit for making Employment Tribunal claims from three to six months (no earlier than October 2026).

Get in touch

Our Employment Team is on hand to guide your organisation through the changes as the Employment Rights Act continues to progress through its implementation stages. To find out more about how we can help, please contact our employment team.

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